Built a Table

May 16, 2011

I started using my new table without getting any pictures of it. Woops.

I was shopping for a small table about 2’x2′ to go at the side of a futon. Bailey and I visited at least seven furniture stores and found that a table about 2/3 that size would cost $100 minimum and upwards of $250 for anything nice. What a ripoff? Well maybe but lack of selection? Absolutely.

So I bought 20 feet of 1 1/4″ steel angle and 10 feet of 1/2″ square tube and built a table. The metal is fairly cheap from an actual metal supply house although I had to pay for some cutting so I could get it on my car and to get less than 20 feet of the tube. It was about $35 for all of it.

I welded the angle into a rectangle with the angle oriented in and down for the top. Legs were added and then a big ‘X’ from the 1/2″ tube 2/3 of the way down the legs to make it sturdy. I welded two pieces of pipe, one inside the other, and made a ring to go at the middle of the ‘X’ for looks. A nice flat black paint job and then a top inserted from the bottom using some old wood flooring and it was done. I’m guessing that I spent $50 when it was done and it looks as good as any of the cheaper table we saw at the stored for three times that price.

I’ll take some pictures if I get a chance to do it before it gets covered in stuff. Flat surfaces seem to get covered quickly in our house.